Though President Aquino did not discuss it extensively in his fourth State of the Nation Address, his administration's intent to prioritize job generation and pursuit of inclusive growth is reflected in the proposed national budget for 2014 submitted to Congress a day after he delivered the SONA.
And that's what really matters. Funding programs and projects aimed at alleviating widespread poverty shows government is bent on addressing massive unemployment that remains the most daunting challenge in the country.
The proposed budget intends to bolster a significant source of jobs - infrastructure development - with a P399.4-billion allocation for 2014, which is equivalent to about 3 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and represents a 35.5 percent rise from the P294.7 billion allotted for 2013.
When Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad was a guest in my "teleradyo" program Sagot Ko 'Yan (DZMM Teleradyo, 8 to 9 a.m. Sundays) the day before the SONA, he said that infrastructure spending will be further increased to about P600 billion in 2015 until it reaches P833 billion, comprising about 5 percent of GDP, by 2016. That rate will be at par with the infrastructure investments of other countries.
To further generate jobs, intensify livelihood opportunities, and spur private investments, public expenditures will focus on continued revitalization of the most promising sectors for economic growth - tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing.
The Transportation Department will use P48.7 billion, a 31.4 percent increase from its current budget, to construct airports, seaports, and railways to enhance competitiveness of industries, while the Department of Public Works and Highways will use P14.5 billion to construct and maintain 679 kilometers of access roads to tourism sites to meet the needs of 6.8 million foreign tourists, Sec. Abad said.
To help the poorest of the poor and strengthen human capital, the proposed 2014 national budget will increase spending for Conditional Cash Transfer from P44.3 billion to P62.6 billion, which will cover 4.44 million households and 10.2 million children beneficiaries, as well as expand its coverage to high school students.
Philhealth will also have an increased budget of P35.3 billion from P12.6 billion to provide preventive healthcare services and health insurance coverage to 14.7 million poor families.
And to hasten inclusive development and ensure the poorest communities reap the benefits of economic gains, the administration has adopted the so-called "bottom up" budgeting (BuB) in crafting the proposed budget by tapping citizen participation in the development of local programs and projects.
Started last year in forming the 2013 national budget that integrated P8.4 billion in poverty reduction projects developed by 595 cities and municipalities, the BuB process in the 2014 proposed national budget was expanded to 1,226 areas, with a total of P20 billion for basic needs like electrification, potable water, education, health, training, livelihood and protective services.
Under the BuB process, the country's poorest municipalities and cities are tasked to develop their local poverty reduction programs and projects in consultation with their communities and civil society organizations (CSOs), to get a more accurate assessment of what exactly are needed and how much. In contrast to top-down budgeting where national officials make all the decisions, the BuB is formulated at the grassroots.
Along with BuB, the Aquino administration also utilized a "Budget Priorities Framework" that "identifies geographic focus areas where our poorest people are and where great potential lies." All departments were directed to not only prioritize their resources for such areas but also tighten their collaboration in these areas for greater impact.
The administration's significant budget increases and new approach in crafting the 2014 proposed national budget may provide the answers to the single most important issue affecting millions of impoverished Filipinos - the need for jobs to uplift their dreary lives and make them productive to achieve lasting economic growth.

Source: Manila Bulletin - July 30, 2013